Social Construction and Responses to Domestic Abuse in the UK

This essay explores the social construction of domestic abuse, examining how societal views and power relationships influence its definition and perception. It delves into relevant social theories such as social constructionism and realism, highlighting their impact on understanding and addressing domestic violence. The essay also analyzes UK policies, including the Domestic Abuse Strategy 2018-2023, and discusses the challenges posed by differing definitions of domestic abuse. Furthermore, it identifies individuals, groups, and communities perceived to contribute to the problem and explains how social differences can be perceived as social problems, using the example of religious minorities. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of addressing social biases and stereotypes to effectively combat domestic abuse and promote social inclusion. Desklib provides access to similar essays and solved assignments for students.

Running head: SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
Social Problem: Domestic Abuse
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
How has “Domestic abuse” been socially constructed and what is being done to address
the problem?
Domestic abuse has been rampant all over the world and is a topic of severe concern
for governments all over the world. The idea and definitions of domestic abuse has changed
over time and this development has happened due to changing views of the society regarding
the concept of domestic abuse. The social construction of domestic abuse is a reflection of
power relationships (Barone and Leedom 2017). The age old belief and practice of
dominance of the powerful over the perceived weak has been manifested in domestic
violence, where the male, the physically powerful species dominates or exerts domination
over the seemingly weak species, the women to show their power over them.
The issues related to domestic violence has pervaded the society for a long time and
has caused numeral direct and indirect deaths. This phenomenon has been the cause for
depression and anxiety, deteriorating the overall health of the society. In United Kingdom,
one in six men and one in four women are abused domestically. The government of United
Kingdom has taken several measures for eradicating domestic abuse from the society and
help the people who have been affected. The government has created a Domestic Abuse
Strategy 2018-2023, where they have taken the pledge for raising awareness, creating
positive culture, educating Defence leaders to tackle incidents quickly, supporting justice
process and taking the opinions of the abused in creating further policies regarding domestic
abuse (Reid 2017). There are dedicated departments and government charity organizations as
well as NGOs that help the victims in finding legal and economic support.

2SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
Outline the relevant social theories i.e. Social constructionism, Realism; and policy/s in
direct relation to Domestic abuse.
Social constructionism is based on the idea making sense of situations through the
knowledge gathered from social interactions. The social opinion and conception of domestic
abuse is largely a result of social constructionism (Andrews 2012). The way society looks at
men and women, the differences that it makes between them, the responsibilities it attributes
to them depending on gender, created the basis of domestic abuse. Changing social belief and
opinion has also led to changes in definition of violence and society now has become open
enough to accept that men can be abused in domestic households.
The idea of realism is based on presenting matters as they truly are, without adding
any artistic value or extra information to undercut the reality of it. This philosophy has led to
the present scenario and approach towards domestic violence where perpetrators of domestic
violence are punished for the crime that they commit. Earlier, many of the perpetrators went
scot free due to the social construction and dismissal of domestic violence as a crime. Later,
the society rejected the idea of male victims of domestic violence which led the number of
women perpetrators to increase (Entilli and Cipolletta 2017). Realism forces the society and
government to accept these matters and ensure that the criminals are punished according to
their crime.
The development policies related to domestic violence are now based on realism and
social construct. The philosophy of the laws are created from the social beliefs and the real
experiences of the victims where the severity of the punishment is based on the severity of
the crime.

3SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
Explain how different definitions are problematic and discuss how this might impact
upon responses to Domestic abuse.
Due to changing opinion of the society and difference of opinion among people, the
definition of domestic violence are many. Realism constitutes that the incidents are viewed as
exactly they are. While this seems just it creates another problem. It undermines the mental
effect that domestic violence can have. It is generally assumed that domestic violence is
constituted only of physical or sexual violence. Thus, the effect that it has on mental wellness
or specifically verbal abuse as a type of domestic abuse has not been considered for a long
time. Differences on definitions of domestic abuse leads to a confusion and difficulty in
creating social and criminal policies for reducing the phenomena from the society (Anitha,
Roy and Yalamarty 2017).
The creation of policies and laws for the protection of victims of domestic violence
are largely guided by the governmental definition of what constitutes domestic violence.
Earlier, government did not include coercion or threats as domestic abuse and thus there were
no provisions made in the constitution to prevent partners from doing those incidents. The
different definitions also create problem when accommodating a wider definition makes the
actual concern seem less urgent (Hearn et al. 2016). The recent definition of domestic
violence incorporates male victims which has led people to argue that domestic violence is
not gender specific and thus minimizing the pain and suffering that women in general face
due to the practice. Responses to domestic abuse thus is largely affected by how it is
perceived or defined in the society.
Identify individuals, groups and communities that are perceived to contribute to the
problem.
There are several social entities that are perceived to a contribution to the problems of
domestic abuse in the society. People with lack of education and social awareness are one of

4SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
the groups that contribute to the problem of domestic abuse. These people do not have a clear
view about what constitutes domestic violence and how to get help. They are also not aware
of why this is a criminal offence. Communities where there are cultural barriers to reporting
crime against intimate partners, victims do not get help (Fletcher 2018). Male masochism is
also another aspect that prevents victims from seeking help. Men feel ashamed of reporting
such incidents as it hurts the social image that they have. The minority and marginalized
people are also such groups that increase the problem.
The minority groups mostly have different cultures and beliefs. They are socially
marginalized and thus have limited access to governmental resources. This leads to a barrier
that prevents them from approaching the government in critical situations. Sometimes, their
culture normalizes domestic violence and has a practice of victim blaming that prevents many
abused to accept this kind of behaviour (Berns 2017). The family and children are also factors
that prevent reporting of violence. Mothers often refrain due to their fear for their child. The
family sometimes do not provide support to victims or force them to return to households
which leads to an increased problem for them.
Explain how ‘social difference’ becomes perceived as ‘social problems’. i.e. individuals
of other religion become perceived as ‘illegal immigrants’ or ‘terrorists’.
Social differences are ever present in societies, within communities which creates
differences in behaviour. Social differences are done based on age, sex, race, caste, colour
and sex. When faced with social differences, it is the common response to view them as the
other and judge their beliefs behaviours and customs through a comparative method. When
the comparison shows extreme differences, they are perceived as non-reconciliatory and thus
a problem. When a particular social group or community has enough presence in the society
and are perceived as different from the rest of the society people tend to become biased or
prejudiced against them. Society stereotypes them, their cultures and practices thus alienating

5SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
them further (Goodwin 2018). This is when the social difference becomes social problems as
prejudice and stereotype leads to mocking, abuse and violence along with discriminatory
behaviour that creates further difficulty for the social community.
A particular social problem appears when people with other religion are perceived as
illegal immigrants or terrorists. Society perceives illegal immigrants as opportunity seekers or
people who are taking their jobs or opportunities away. When people from different religion
is encountered they cannot connect with their views and beliefs and assume that they are not
as deserving as they are. The prejudice that society has becomes apparent. Moreover, the
conception of terrorism has become associated with particular religious communities and
thus, those communities are perceived as illegal immigrants (Sobolewska, Galandini and
Lessard-Phillips 2017). Due to the influx of illegal immigrants all over the world, any person
belonging to other religious community are perceived as such.

6SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
References
Andrews, T., 2012. What is social constructionism. Grounded theory review, 11(1), pp.39-46.
Anitha, S., Roy, A. and Yalamarty, H., 2017. Abuse, violence and abandonment in
transnational marriages: issues for policy and practice in the UK. Safe: The Domestic Abuse
Quarterly.
Barone, M. and Leedom, L.J., 2017. Social Construction of the Abuse Experience: Traumatic
Bonding or Co-Dependency?.
Berns, N.S., 2017. Framing the victim: Domestic violence, media, and social problems.
Routledge.
Entilli, L. and Cipolletta, S., 2017. When the woman gets violent: the construction of
domestic abuse experience from heterosexual men's perspective. Journal of clinical
nursing, 26(15-16), pp.2328-2341.
Fletcher, M.A., 2018. We to me: an autoethnographic discovery of self, in and out of
domestic abuse. Women's Studies in Communication, 41(1), pp.42-59.
Goodwin, M., 2018. They Couldn’t Get My Soul: Recovered Memories, Ritual Abuse, and
the Specter (s) of Religious Difference. Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 47(2),
pp.280-298.
Hearn, J., Strid, S., Husu, L. and Verloo, M., 2016. Interrogating violence against women and
state violence policy: Gendered intersectionalities and the quality of policy in The
Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. Current Sociology, 64(4), pp.551-567.

7SOCIAL PROBLEM: DOMESTIC ABUSE
Reid, L., 2017. Why Is Leadership Important in Policing Domestic Abuse? A Case Study of
the Leadership Issues in Tackling Domestic Abuse in a Major City in the UK (Doctoral
dissertation, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom)).
Sobolewska, M., Galandini, S. and Lessard-Phillips, L., 2017. The public view of immigrant
integration: multidimensional and consensual. Evidence from survey experiments in the UK
and the Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(1), pp.58-79.